buyer reports damaged item

[vhx1856]

Buyer sent pictures of damaged item after unpacking. What is the best and most used procedure in dealing with this? Item is china teapot, and handle is broken off upon receipt. What about my fees, taxes, and refund procedures. Item was insured through USPS.

[katzrul15]

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@vhx1856 wrote:

Buyer sent pictures of damaged item after unpacking. What is the best and most used procedure in dealing with this? Item is china teapot, and handle is broken off upon receipt. What about my fees, taxes, and refund procedures. Item was insured through USPS.

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@vhx1856 

I always take care of my customer FIRST.

The insured parcel is your concern - not the Buyers.  They paid and expect their item to arrive undamaged.

Your refund your Buyer in full and you apologize for the inconvenience.  You ask them for additional pix for USPS once you have made them happy, if you think USPS will need them.

Many USPS insurance claims are never paid, btw - they will accuse you (the seller) of inadequate packing for the shipment item.  Was it double boxed?  It should have been for a glass/porcelain teapot.  

Good luck!

[katzrul15]

@vhx1856 

BTW - if the box was heavily damaged, you have an argument with USPS.  If not, the odds of being reimbursed dwindle greatly.  

[Anonymous]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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@vhx1856 wrote:

Buyer sent pictures of damaged item after unpacking. What is the best and most used procedure in dealing with this? Item is china teapot, and handle is broken off upon receipt. What about my fees, taxes, and refund procedures. Item was insured through USPS.

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@vhx1856 

I always take care of my customer FIRST.

The insured parcel is your concern - not the Buyers.  They paid and expect their item to arrive undamaged.

Your refund your Buyer in full and you apologize for the inconvenience.  You ask them for additional pix for USPS once you have made them happy, if you think USPS will need them.

Many USPS insurance claims are never paid, btw - they will accuse you (the seller) of inadequate packing for the shipment item.  Was it double boxed?  It should have been for a glass/porcelain teapot.  

Good luck!

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^THIS is excellent advice

[vhx1856]

Item was encased in foam rubber, bubble wrapped,  with extra cardboard inside box sides, and with triangular box corner supports. I have been shipping china on here for 16 years, worldwide, and never had any damage. The handle was broken in pieces, so I don't know how that happened. I will refund of course, but what about ebay fees, and taxes? I know about the USPS damage claim chances, but I will play it out and hope for a fair shake. Should I request return of Item, even though it is now worthless??

[m60driver]

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@vhx1856 wrote:

 Should I request return of Item, even though it is now worthless??

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Given that you will have to refund regardless and given that USPS rarely pays out for fragile items that broke in shipment I doubt the cost of return shipping of a now worthless item is worth it.  I know it is frustrating.  I have been involved in the shipping products since the early 1970s and sometimes things break despite my following tried and true shipping procedures.

[dbfolks166mt]

Item was encased in foam rubber, bubble wrapped,  with extra cardboard inside box sides, and with triangular box corner supports. I have been shipping china on here for 16 years, worldwide, and never had any damage. The handle was broken in pieces, so I don't know how that happened. I will refund of course, but what about ebay fees, and taxes? I know about the USPS damage claim chances, but I will play it out and hope for a fair shake. Should I request return of Item, even though it is now worthless??

     Since you are fully refunding that clears the first hurdle. With regards to the USPS claim I have had mixed results. First either the sender or the receiver can file the claim with USPS and it is MUCH easier if the receiver does. However, since you have, or are refunding, that is not a viable option. I have filed three insurance claims with USPS and won two. The two that I won required some pretty good cooperation from the buyer. First I had to take communications outside of eBay and the buyers provided their personal email so I could include it on the USPS claim. The buyers were also kind enough to keep the broken item along with the original packing which USPS will require to be taken into the buyers local post officer for examination and determination on the claim. 

     If the PM at the local facility agrees the damage was caused by poor shipping procedures they will approve the claim as well as keep the broken item and the packing. In one of the cases the PM failed to fill out the forms to the claims center in St. Louis, MO. I called the claims center and they opened a conference call with the PM and cleared up that issue. The case that I lost I could not get the buyers cooperation other than to send me pictures of the broken item which USPS would not accept as sufficient evidence to support the claim. 

     One other note thing is if you do win the claim with USPS they will only refund the value of the item up to the insured amount. They will not refund the postage you have to fight for that separately. Depending on the value of the item you will have to determine if it is worth the battle with USPS to get refunded. 

     While not much compensation the loss of the item is always deductible on your income taxes. COGS, shipping, fees, etc. 

[cstpos]

@vhx1856If you feel the item is worth shipping back at your expense, you can ask the buyer to carefully pack (the same way you sent it) the item and send them a return label. I would also ask for pics of the packaging as well as the item. Save your shipping, payment and tracking info as USPS cases can drag on past the point that ebay will still show it on your account.

Ebay started refunding FVF less .30 at then end of May 2022. Ebay charges taxes, collects, and distributs to each state as required, so you never had that $$$ in your account. They show it to you in the breakdown so you can see the FVF calculated total.

It doesn't hurt to try a refund on USPS. I have successfully received refunds for damaged items from them. It takes a while, but it's worth a shot. Good Luck!

[femmefan1946]

You refund.

Then you take it up with the insurer (USPS).

If you win, good.

If you lose, the loss is a business expense.

When posters say, never sell what you cannot afford to lose, they do not mean only to dishonest buyers. They can mean to damage or loss in transit.

Did the USPS include a letter about the damage when they delivered to the customer? That would help with a claim.

[mtgraves7984]

I will refund of course, but what about ebay fees, and taxes?

@vhx1856 

^^^ This will be a deduction on Schedule C.